Featured artist Jesse Sanchez

[imagebrowser id=99] Jesse Sanchez is a full time, award winning art director and graduate of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. He has worked as an Art Director and Designer since graduating in 1985. He has been exhibiting his fine art publicly for over 10 years. His work can be seen in Studio Visit Magazine, volume five, volume six, and volume seven, published by the Open Studios Press, or at New Century Artists, Inc. in Chelsea. Jesse has been president of the New Rochelle Art Association since 2005 and is a board member of The Castle Gallery at The College of New Rochelle.

Jesse grew up in New Rochelle, NY, and art has always been his focus. He was awarded full-scholarships to both The Cooper Union and The School of Visual Arts after graduating with honors from New Rochelle High School in 1981. As a designer and art director Jesse has won major awards in book jacket design and his work has been seen on the covers of New York Times bestsellers. Jesse devotes much of his time to The New Rochelle Art Association and has grown the organization since becoming president. Currently he is the art director at M.E. Sharpe Publishers in Armonk, NY and maintains a fine art studio on Main St. in New Rochelle. He has exhibited his fine art widely in both NYC and Westchester. Jesse has curated over 20 shows with the NRAA.

I paint and draw from my imagination and I love the struggle it takes to finish a picture. A fellow artist once said it takes courage to create. Today that seems to hold true for me. Working as an artist has helped me to keep in touch with my feelings. I struggle daily with the interplay of intellect and heart. I hope my work can bring people the joy and peace I find in creating it.

For me, starting on a new painting requires a leap of faith. Often times the struggle with one painting leads me into a purer and more essential result in the next. Through abstraction and leaving out specific descriptive information, a more universal expression is achieved; one that exists most importantly on an emotional level. The more I work in this way, the closer I get to an enjoyable process; one that results in a work of art about the perceived beauty in nature; both man-made and personal, both inner and outer.

Each painting is a journey into the process of self-exploration and the pursuit of self-knowledge. My goal is to create an art of deep feeling and empathy for the world. I hope that my work will be appreciated and valued for its import and invention.